Protective tread for pneumatic tires.



C. E. TITUS.

PROTEGTLVE TREAD PoR PNBUMATIC TIRES.

APPLICATION FILED SBPT.14, 190B.

973,999. Patented 09.251910.

Z SHEETS-SHEET 1 C. E. TITUS.

i iROTEGTIVE TREAD FOR PNEUMAT'IG TIRES.

APPLIOATION FILED 32H14. 1908.

l2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

my MM Patented Oct. 25, 1910.

PATENT FFICE.

CHARLES E. TITUS, 0F SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

PROTECTIVE TREAT) FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES.

973,999. Specification of Letters raient. atenten oei. e5, 191e.

Application filed September 14, 1908. Serial No. 452,942.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. TrrUs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of iVIassachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Protective lreads for Pneumatic Tires, of which the follow-ing is a specification.

4My present invention relates to improve ments in protective treads for pneumatic tires whereby the life of the tire is increased, the liability of puncturing is minimized and the traction oi' the tires is increased while skidding is prevented, and it has it'or its object primarily to provide an improved tread of this character which is composed of a set of heads, preferably ot' hardened metal, and

- disposed suitably upon the tire tread, these hardened heads being held in place by relatively soft metal pins which extend through the outer tire casing and are secured at 'their inner ends by means of washers7 the head-securing pins being provided with shoulders to receive the axial thrust of the washers and thereby prevent undue pinching o'li the tire casing between the tread heads and the washers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tread head of novel construction, the ground-engaging surface of the head being provided with an annular groove which is adapted to receive the point of a nail or other s harp object and thereby prevent its slipping over the edge of the tread head and puncturing the tire, the head being` also provided at its inner side with an annular rib which is arranged to engage the outer surface of the tire casing and thereby prevent the entrance of water or sand into the tire.

Anotlieiobject of the invention is to provide an improved tire construction in combination with the protective tread, the inner surface oi the tire casing being lined preferably with chrome-tanned leather, and al'ter the application of the washers, a so't't rubber cushion is applied over the said lining and the Washers whereby the air tube of the tire is protected :from abrasion, the washers being interposed between the lining and cushion and having anchoring projections which extend from their inner and outer surfaces and coperate.-respectively, with the leather lining and the rubber cushion, thereby securing the washer from side strain or tilting.

To these and other ends, the invention l consists in certain improvements, and co1nbinations and arrangements oi parts,.all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel teatnres being pointed out particularly in the claims at the end ot the specification.

ln the accompanying drawingz-Fignrc 1 represents a transverse section ot' a pneu matic tire provided with a protective tread constructed in accordance with my present invention; Fig. 2 represents a. section taken in the plane ot' the tire showing one ot the tread elements on an enlarged scale; ltig. Z5 is a perspective view oi one of the tread heads; Fig. 4 is a plan view oi' one ol the washers; llig. 5 is a detail view ot" the pin for unitingl the lird and washer; Figs. G and 7 reprtisent axial sections of the tread head and washer, respectively; Fig. 8 is a top plan view ot a portion et the tire easing equipped with the tread; lt`ig. .l represents a section ot the tire showing the means tor anchoring together the washers oi the various tread elements; Fig. lt) is a perspective ot' a spurred washer; and Fig. Vil is a sec tional view showing the manner ol applying such washer to the tread element and tire.

Similar parts are designated by the saine reference characters in the several views.

Protective treads constructed in accordance with my present invention are capable oi application generally to tires ot various constructions. although. they are particularly applicable to pneumatic tires of the type used upon automobiles. In the present instance, l have shown the invention applied to a pneumatic tire of the ordinary detachable type comprising an outer easing l and the inner or air tube L.

According to my present invention, l line the interior snrit'ace ot the outer easing` with a strip of (',luonie-tanned leather 3 which may be cemented or otherwise secured in position, the toughnessl ol this lining serv ing to securely hold the tread elements from pulling through or nearing the tire easing. ,ln the present instance, l preferably eniploy a plurality oi" tread elements which are independently yieldable so as to insure the maximum resilience, three longitudinal rows of tread elements being illustrated in the drawing which number is shown as a-n example, although it is lobvious that the number of tread elements may be varied as desired. Each tread element consists of a head 4 which is preferably disk-like or annular in general form and is preferably composed of hardened steel or other appropriate material. The outer surface of this head which is adapted to engage the ground is provided with an annular groove-5 which encircles thel disk adjacent to its periphery, this groove serving to receive the points of nails or other relatively sharp objects and thereby prevent them from slipping over the edge of the head and thus puncturing the tire. The underside of each head is rounded at its edge so as to prevent abrasion of the tire casing and is also provided with an annular rib 6 which is adapted to embed itself for a suitable distance in the tire easing and thus prevent the entrance of Water, sand or other material into the tire through the hole 'for the securing pin. The head is provided with a bore 7 which is contracted as it appro'aghes the under side of the head so as to provide a shoulder 8.' The pin 9 which secures each head to the tire casinghas a head l0 which is forced into the bore 7 of the head and constitutes a shoulderv which coperates with the shoulder at the bottom of vsaid bore, thus preventing detachment of thethead. The body portion of this pin passes through the tire casing,

and in order to facilitate the application of these prins, they are originally pointed, as shown in Fig. 5, and toward this point is formed a reduced portion l1, a shoulder l2 being formed between this reduced por,- tion and the body of the pin. vThese pins are also passed through the lining 3 of the ing, and a Washer 13 is applied to the reduced portion 1 1 of each pin, the Washer abutting against the shoulder l2 of the pin and being secured to the pin by heading over the point ofthe latter. This Washer is of substantially doi. le convex form, one of its sur` faces having a projection 14 thereon which is adapted to embed itself in the leather lining 3, and the other surface having a similar projection l5 formed thereon which einlieds itscif in a cushion 1G preferably of soft rubber which is applied at the iimer side of the leather lining after the Washers have all been applied, these projections on the Washer serving to sustain side strains upon the heads due to striking stones and other objects.Y

This soft rubber cushion may be cemented or vulcanized in place and engages the inner air tube of the tire which it protects from the washers.

In order to further secure the tread ele? ments thus constructed from lateral strains or tilting, I preferablyv employ anchoring devices. those shown in the present instance choring links for the Washers serve to effecradially between adjacent Washers so that strainsbearing upon one of the tread elements tending to deflect such element laterally Will be reinforced through these anchoring links. A protective tread constructed in accordance With my present invention may be manufactured cheaply and applied to tires of various kinds With facility,- and in practice, it serves to increase the durability of the tire, minimize puncturing and increase the traction of the Wheels, enabling the Wheels to obtain a firm hold upon the road and prevent skidding. By interposing the Washers of the tread elements between a tough leather lining of the casing and a rubber cushion, abrasion of the casing and air tube is prevented While the security of the hold is increased, and the anchoring projections upon the washers sustain lateral strains imposed upon the tread heads. The construction of the heads is such as to minimize puncturing and prevent the entrance of Water or sand into the tire, `and the antually reinforce the tread elements and to prevent shifting thereof.

In order to afford further security to the support and positioning ofthe tread elements, a supplemental Washer` 18 such as shown in F ig. lO may be employed, this washer being adapted to slip over the inner end of the pin before the convex Washer is applied thereto and its outer side is provided With an annular row of spurs or sharpened teeth which are adapted to embed themselves in the leather lining of the'tire casing and thus eti'ectually secure the re.- spective tread element from lateral shifting.

I claim as my invention l. The combination with a tire casing, of a plurality of tread elements, each embodying a head, a shank, and a retaining Washer, the latter having a ribbed face, the head bearing against the tread ofthe tire casing, the shank passing through the tire casing, and `the washer being disposed within the tire casing, and a cushioning strip confined within the casing and held against the inner face thereof, the cushioning strip being forced by the pressure of the air in the casing against the ribbed face of the washers and' in turn holding the latter against the inner face of the casing, the ribs of the washers thereby being anchored in the cusliioning strip to prevent side shifting of the tread elements. i

2. The combination With a tire casing, of a plurality of tread elements, each embodying a head, a shank and a Washer having a In testimony whereof I have hereunto set ribbed face for engagement in the material my hand 1n presence of two subscubmg wxtof the easing, the shank having n reduced lower end portion affording u stop Shoulder, ncsses.

and the. Washer surrounding the reduced CHARLES E. TITUS. 5 lower end portion bearing against the sto Witnesses:

shoulder and being held thereby determ'l- E. W. PARKER,

nately spaced from the head. F. G. BATES. 

